A few months ago I went down the same road that you did because of my frustrations with social interactions. I read "How to make friends...", tried to talk to people on the street, tried social lubricants like alcohol and caffeine. To my dismay, nothing seemed to work or stick. Then I read the book "The Game" and started getting into the "pick up" scene. While I felt (and still do) uncomfortable with the sometimes negative views of women and social interactions, I have to say that many of the "whys" and "hows" that they teach have helped me a great deal. The one that has helped me the most is http://www.pickuppodcast.com.
I skimmed that book. I did feel pretty energized and powerful after reading it, like I had the inside track on things. I feel weird about that sort of thing though. I don't want to get laid or anything.
One guy gave me roses to pass out to pretty women at a bar to try and hook up. I passed them out because I do like the idea of recognizing beautiful women, but I shut down when one actually was interested in me and tried to make contact. I also tried drinking and another tried dirty dancing with me, but I mainly just got depressed and I was pretty much a fish.
